Blogging about what I'm cooking. Not as much deep-fried stuff anymore, but hey, it's a catchy name.

March 2012

I don't even remember where I saw this recipe, but I knew right away that I had to try it. I haven't made many biscuits before, but I really enjoy caramelized mushrooms and onions so I decided to add it to my list of things to cook. These were surprisingly easy to make, and came out even better than I expected!

Caramelized Mushroom and Onion BiscuitsIngredients:

½ pound cremini mushrooms, sliced

2 Tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, separated

1 small yellow onion, sliced

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar or balsamic vinegar reduction

Salt and coarse ground black pepper

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ cup vegetable shortening, cold and cut into cubes

½ cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

1 egg, beaten, plus 1 egg, beaten for egg wash

¾ cup buttermilk, cold

Directions:

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and allow to cook until tender and golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Remove from the pan.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in the same pan. Add onions and cook down until tender and browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, add the mushrooms back to the pan along with thyme, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 425°F

In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. In another bowl, combine egg and milk and beat lightly with a fork. Add to flour mixture all at once, stirring enough to make a soft dough. Add the cooled mushroom and onion mixture and blend together.

Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 15 times. Roll or pat out into a 1-inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch rounds using a biscuit cutter or cut into 2×2-inch squares. Reshape and roll dough to create more biscuits with excess scraps. Place on an ungreased baking sheet, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Serve warm as an egg sandwich or with gravy. These biscuits are best eaten the day they’re made, but will last up to 2 days.

Notes:The only thing I'll probably change next time is to make sure to brush the sides with the egg wash as well. Otherwise, these were fairly simple and delicious biscuits!

One of my friends recently posted a link to a list of restaurant recipes, and while flipping through the list, this one caught my eye for some reason. I've never really been a fan of veggie burgers, but these were amazingly good. If you're not a fan of sweet flavors, you might want to slightly reduce the honey and molasses.

Veggie BurgersIngredients:Pico de gallo

¾ cup finely diced tomatoes, from about 2 tomatoes

¼ cup finely diced onion

2 packed Tablespoons (from 1/8 bunch) roughly chopped cilantro

2 Tablespoons finely chopped canned jalapenos with juice

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

Juice of ½ lime

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

⅛ teaspoon Tabasco, or other vinegar-based hot sauce

¼ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

Burgers:

4 cups cooked black beans, from about 2½ (15-ounce) cans (drained)

¼ cup honey

¼ cup molasses

2 teaspoons salt, more to taste

1 Tablespoon cumin, more to taste

¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for sautéing the burgers

½ cup finely diced onion

9 ounces portobello mushrooms, cut into ¼-inch pieces (about 4 cups)

1 cup pico de gallo

3 cups panko bread crumbs

Semolina flour for dusting

Sliced cheese, if desired

Sliced toasted ciabatta rolls

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapenos, garlic, lime juice, vegetable oil and Tabasco. Stir in salt. Taste, and adjust seasonings and flavorings as desired. This makes 1 generous cup of pico de gallo.

Heat the oven to 350°F. In a food processor, lightly pulse the black beans, honey, molasses, salt and cumin. Remove the bean mixture to a large bowl.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat until hot. Add the one-fourth cup plus 1 tablespoon oil, then stir in the onion and diced portobello mushrooms. Cook until the onion is softened and caramelized and the mushrooms have rendered their juice and are darkened, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Stir in the pico de gallo, scraping any flavoring from the base of the pan. Remove from heat and cool, then add to the large bowl with the black bean mixture, stirring to fully incorporate.

Stir in the bread crumbs, kneading to form a cohesive mixture. Taste, and adjust the seasonings as desired. Divide the mixture into eighths, forming each into a patty. Lightly dust each patty with semolina flour.

Place the patties on a greased baking sheet. Bake the patties for 15 minutes to warm and set the filling, then remove from heat. (The patties can be made up to this point and frozen: Cool the patties, then individually wrap and freeze. Thaw before continuing.)

Before serving, heat a skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add a thin film of oil, then add 1 to 2 patties (do not crowd the pan). Sear on each side until the patties are crisp on both sides and warmed throughout, 4 to 6 minutes total. If desired, melt cheese on top of each patty.

Garnish as desired and serve on the toasted ciabatta rolls.

Notes:I left the cilantro out of the pico de gallo and used one diced chipotle in adobo instead of the jalapeno. I also used canned petite diced tomatoes, and used the extra tomato and onion to make a little extra pico de gallo to top the burgers with.

A few days ago, my friend Elizabeth posted this recipe on Facebook. She said she had made it several times before with different spice variations and loved it because it was simple and good. I haven't cooked much with shrimp in the past, and I'm not quite sure why. I'm not sure how to cook it is probably part of it, so I cook other things instead. This recipe really is idiot-proof though, and the results were delicious. I'll definitely make it again, maybe with the spices recommended in the original recipe.

Roasted Broccoli and ShrimpIngredients:

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 pounds broccoli florets

4 Tablespoons olive oil, separated

Zest of one lemon

Salt and pepper

Garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F.

On a large cookie sheet, toss together broccoli and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Lightly sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Spread into single layer and place in oven for 10 minutes.

Maybe I was just looking for an excuse to use my new mortar and pestle, or maybe I saw a recipe that combined two of my favorite things (butternut squash and curry), but whatever the reason, I decided to make this for dinner tonight and I have no regrets. It's the first time I've ever made curry completely from scratch before (I've always used premade curry powder before), and it was much easier than I thought!

Butternut Squash CurryIngredients:

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

1 Tablespoon tamarind pulp

1 medium butternut squash

3 Tablespoons mild, high temperature cooking oil, such as safflower or peanut oil

1 large shallot, peeled and sliced

4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

2 ¼ inch thick coins of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

1 jalapeño chile, chopped with seeds

½ teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon cayenne

2 small, dried red chiles

1 Balinese Long Pepper (optional)

1 14 oz. can coconut milk

½ can water

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

Cilantro for garnish

Directions:

In a small, dry skillet, over medium heat, toast the coriander, cumin and fennel seeds. Set aside to cool.

Soak the tamarind pulp in 2-3 tablespoons of hot water.

Meanwhile, peel and cut the squash into bite-sized chunks. Set aside about 5-6 cups of squash cubes, saving any remaining squash for another use.

In a spice grinder, or with a mortar and pestle, grind the toasted spices. Break up the tamarind pulp in the water with your fingertips, discarding any fibrous chunks or seeds.

In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, over medium heat, warm the oil. Add shallot, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until soft and wilted.

Add squash, coconut milk, water, tamarind paste and salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for about 45 minutes, until squash is tender and just beginning to break down. The squash will thicken the curry as it cooks down. Garnish each serving with sprigs of cilantro.

Notes:I left out the cilantro since neither of us particularly likes it. I used half of a Balinese long pepper, and while I initially thought the curry was going to be a little too spicy, it turned out not too spicy at all. I'll probably use the whole pepper next time.

A friend of mine posted a link to this recipe recently, and it sounded simple and tasty so I decided to give it a try. I'll make a few more minor modifications the next time I make it, but it was simple and tasty so it accomplished the goal for today!

Japchae (잡채)

Ingredients:

6 ounces dangmyeon (clear sweet potato noodles)

¼ cup soy sauce

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon rice wine

5 ounces beef, thinly sliced

¼ cup water

1 Tablespoon + 1 Tablespoon sesame oil

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, sliced

1 small bag shredded carrots

4 ounces fresh pyogo (shiitake) mushrooms, sliced

3 ounces spinach, cut into 1” lengths

1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

Soak the dangmyeon in hot tap water until it’s fully rehydrated (20-30 minutes).

Mix the soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine in a bowl to combine, then take 2 tablespoons of this sauce and add it to the beef, letting it marinate while the noodles rehydrate and you prepare the rest of the vegetables. Add 1/4 cup of water to the remaining sauce.

When the noodles are rehydrated, drain them, and then use scissors to cut the noodles into 6” lengths.

In a large frying pan, add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and fry until fragrant. Add the marinated beef and stir-fry until the meat is fully cooked, and then transfer the beef to a bowl.

Add another tablespoon of sesame oil to the pan, and then add the onions and carrots. Stir-fry until the carrots are almost cooked, then add the pyogo. Continue stir-frying until the carrots are fully cooked.

Add the dangmyeon and spinach, and then pour the sauce over everything. Stir-fry until the noodles are tender and all the liquid has been absorbed. Return the beef to the pan, sprinkle with the sesame seeds, and then toss everything together. Serve immediately.

Notes:The original recipe called for bell peppers as well, but neither of us particularly likes them so I removed them and added more carrots. I'll add more beef next time and probably increase the amount of sauce as well. Overall though, while we were talking about how it was semi-bland, we both ended up eating a second serving. :)

I'm back from Afghanistan, and boy am I hungry. I have a list of things I want to make in the next few weeks, but my first real meal back was simple: 2" thick filet mignon cooked in the sous vide machine for 3 hours at 134F, baked potato, and sauteed onions and mushrooms in a balsamic reduction.

Tonight, I tried a new recipe from foodnetwork.com. It came out really good, but I don't really like the name of it. They call it Enchilada Lasagna, I'd just call it enchilada casserole. Not going to retype it this time, but if you're looking for a relatively simple enchilada dish, this is the one for you!